


The Pumpkin and the Christmas Tree.

by Swen and Chill (anotherouatwriter)



Series: Baby, it's cold outside. [20]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Nightmare Before Christmas Fusion, F/F, Regina is the princess of Halloweentown, and Emma is the princess of Christmastown, countdown to christmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-09-09 19:59:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8910019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anotherouatwriter/pseuds/Swen%20and%20Chill
Summary: In which Princess Regina of Halloweentown meets Princess Emma of Christmastown.
AU - Nightmare before Christmas world.





	

Halloweentown is the only place Regina had ever seen. It was a bizarre and weird town, filled with monsters and ghosts. They all called her princess and gave her everything she asked and much more. More meant scaring her every time they had a chance.

But there was something missing. Even during the busiest days of the year, even during Halloween, there was always something missing.

Truth was, she didn't want to follow her mother's steps and end up being a bitter, lonely monarch. She wanted love, a family, and happiness. But, all those things seemed alien to a place like Halloweentown. She thought that she found that once with Mal, a dragon shifter, only to learn it was a cruel joke. Cruel jokes were the favorite thing to do in Halloweentown.

The only person who knew about her heart's true desires was her best friend, a werewolf called Ruby. She had tried to help her but couldn't figure out how. That was, until one morning Ruby barged into her room screaming, "I've found something!" She grabbed her by the elbow and dragged her out of the room.

"Ruby, where are we going?" Regina protested as they walked into the woods.

Regina was not a person who gets easily scared due to her growing up in Halloweentown. But the woods creeped the hell out of her. They were full of undomesticated creatures that didn't recognize her mother as their Queen and thus were considered enemies. It was a place where people didn't simply venture in just because their best friend told them they found something.

"Ruby..." Regina whispered, "I think I saw something move over there."

"Relax, Regina," Ruby tried to calm her down, "I'm a werewolf, I can take anyone in these woods. Besides, we're here."

The princess turned around to see a couple of trees arranged in a circle, each one decorated with an unique sign.

"What's this?" Regina asked, entering into the circle of trees and walking around, studying each design.

Ruby shrugged. "I just found them. They're doors," she explained, "And doors take you to places."

"Unless it's another cruel joke."

"I don't think anyone would venture this deep into the woods to leave a joke," Ruby argued, "Anyway, pick one and go!"

"But mother - "

"Won't know you're missing. It's been two days since Halloween and you know full well they are wasted and most people will hibernate until January."

It was true. The people of Halloweentown usually slept all day and were active at night, but during the holidays, they got so wasted that they'd sleep for at least two months. She had once tried to wake up her mother in December and her mother locked her in a closet until February. That wasn't very nice.

She studied the doors. All of them were beautifully decorated. One of them, particularly, caught her attention. It was a green tree decorated with colorful objects.

"This one," Regina pointed at the door she had been studying.

Ruby opened the door and motioned, "Have fun, Princess. I'll cover for you if someone asks."

Regina set a foot on the inside of the tree, nothing happened. Then, she placed her other foot inside. And suddenly, she was falling, and falling, and falling. Until she landed on something not so hard but oh so cold.

She stood up faster than a kid running when he sees a ghost. She looked down and noticed her feet had sunk on the cold white floor. What was that? She bent to touch it, the floor making a dent where she had pressed it.

"What is this?" Regina asked herself. It was then when she heard a giggle, knowing it was definitely not Ruby, she turned around and found a blonde girl wearing a red cape watching her with an amused smile on her face.

" _That_ is snow," the blonde explained. "It's like... frozen water," she elaborated when she noticed that Regina was still confused, "But not ice... That's something else... Have you ever seen ice? Because it's pretty common here, but so it's snow... And you have never seen snow... And now I'm rambling. Name's Emma."

Emma extended her hand towards Regina, who studied it as if it had contagious diseases.

"So, who are you and where do you come from?" Emma asked, "I can tell by those clothes that you are definitely not from Christmastown."

Regina looked down at her clothes. She was wearing leather pants and a velvet jacket that hugged her body in all the right places.

"Not that there's anything wrong with your clothes, I mean, they are pretty cool and you look hot," Emma continued talking, "But, it's not something we would wear here. Nope, here, we wear cheerful stuff, all green, red, and white and maybe -"

"Has anyone ever told you speak too much?" Regina interrupted.

Emma blushed, "I'm the princess, so they tend to accept it."

"In my town, they'll stitch your lips together, princess or not."

"Maybe I wouldn't talk so much if I wasn't the only one talking," Emma answered with a sassy tone, "And you still haven't told me your name and where you're from."

"My name is Regina and I'm from Halloweentown."

"No wa _aaaaaayy_ y!" Emma bounced excitedly, "Halloweentown is real? I thought it was just made stories to scare kids and make them have nightmares."

"Yes, that part is pretty much true," Regina answered, "My mother loves terrorizing children so we all have to be our worst."

"Wait! Your mother is the Queen?" Emma opened her eyes as saucers. "I bet that is so cool! Being naughty and getting away with it. If I even blink the wrong way, I'm put on the naughty list," she pouted and Regina thought she was adorable.

"Sounds dull," the brunette noted as she looked around, the place might be boring but it was definitely beautiful, "This is so different from my town."

"Come, I'll show you around."

Emma took Regina's hand and started walking, and even though the snow was cold, Emma's hand was enough to keep her warm. But it was not only the warmth. What being close to Emma did to her, it was also completing the missing piece in Regina's heart.

The blonde took Regina everywhere. She showed her the main square and explained the story behind the Christmas Tree. She helped Regina make some of the Christmas decorations and together, they put them on an undecorated tree. She taught Regina some of the Christmas carols.

And, Regina found herself wanting for the day not to end. She loved Emma's company. Regina felt that when she was with the blonde, her life made a bit more sense, as if she

was destined for more than just scaring children. But sadly, dusk arrived, announcing it was time to go home.

"I had fun today," Regina confessed to Emma as they walked back to the place where Emma found Regina. "It was a nice change, doing things that are not spooky."

Emma smiled at her. "It was a nice change to have someone that got frustrated and showed any emotion other than being cheerful," the blonde remarked, reminding with fondness on how Regina wanted to burn the whole kitchen down when her gingerbread house collapsed.

Similar to Halloweentown, there was a circle of trees. Regina let go of Emma's hand and walked to the door with the pumpkin on it. Her heart got heavier with each step, she hadn't left and she already missed Emma.

"Regina?" she heard her name being called as she walked and turned around. "Will you come back?" the blonde asked as she closed the distance between them, "I'd really like it if you'd visit me again."

And Regina couldn't help but smile. "I'd love to," she answered. "And you can always come and visit me in Halloweentown. We can do naughty things without worrying about that idiotic list," she added with a wink. Because she could do nice things with Emma and Emma could do naughty things with her.

Emma pressed a kiss to Regina's cheek, "See you around, Regina."


End file.
